Commissioner proposes ‘Seminole Forever’ program to safeguard water resources

Seminole County commissioners are working on an ordinance this month to acquire land critical to conservation efforts, like protecting water, because most drinking water comes from aquifers underground that naturally filter and hold groundwater.

"Every time I talk to a citizen, they say, 'Yes, we understand growth is going to be here, but please protect our natural resources,'" said Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine.

Even though residents may agree on the goal, there are different ideas on how to achieve it.

Save Rural Seminole president, David Bear, proposed putting a measure on the November ballot to let residents vote on a tax to buy natural lands and protect them.

"The most common way that counties preserve natural lands is the way Seminole County did it in 1990 and 2000, which is they put a referendum to the citizens who say, 'Yes, this is a value we hold and we choose to add an additional property tax or sales tax on ourselves to allow the county to purchase and preserve natural lands,'" he said.

That proposal, though, was rejected by county commissioners in favor of a plan presented by Constantine called "Seminole Forever" — which is modeled after the state’s Florida Forever conservation program